


Wooing Khan

by Jokers_Sanity



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Language of Flowers, M/M, Minor Injuries, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-25
Updated: 2013-07-25
Packaged: 2017-12-21 06:57:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/897219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jokers_Sanity/pseuds/Jokers_Sanity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirk finds himself falling in love with their resident intergalactic terrorist, and the only way he seems to be able to earn the augmented human's trust is through the use of various flowers...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wooing Khan

At first, Jim had a hard time accepting that he owed his life to an intergalactic terrorist.

Khan was about as twisted as they came. He’d used children’s lives as leverage in his scheme to destroy Star Fleet… He’d needlessly killed several Star Fleet officers in his assault on HQ… He’d been a two-faced liar when Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise needed him most. Jim absolutely detested liars.

And yet, according to Bones, Khan had willingly given his blood to save him. That just didn’t make sense. Khan was a monster who cared for no-one but himself… but that wasn’t necessarily true, was it? He lived for his crew. In his own words, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to ensure their safety. But how did he know that that wasn’t another lie?

Now, Jim hovered at Khan’s bedside. His blue eyes flickered from the IV in Khan’s wrist… to his arm, which was set with a complex-looking combination of splints and leather straps… to his eyes, which are closed as the augmented human slumbers on, completely oblivious to the audience he’s drawn. He looks deceptively innocent.

Without a word, Jim slipped the peach rose he had brought onto Khan’s bedside table and took his leave…

\--

“Why are you here?” Khan’s eyes were still closed, but from his clipped tone, it was evident that he was fully aware of Kirk’s presence. He made no move to turn and look at Kirk.

“I want to know why…” Kirk paused, swallowing hard. After a moment of hesitation, he realized that he was unable to ask what he really wanted to know, and instead settled on, “I want to know why you wanted to kill Marcus so badly.”

Still, Khan made no attempt to open his eyes. “Don’t ask idiotic questions. You already know the answer to that.”

“No, actually, I don’t think I do.” Kirk said. “Your crew is safely aboard this ship and they always have been.”

“I do not trust humans. They are an inferior species, driven by animalistic emotions. Their only desire is to feed their own selfish want. Admiral Marcus was no different… and neither are you.” 

Blue eyes widened considerably. “You can trust me!” He said indignantly. “And you can trust my crew!”

“Trust is earned, not given.” This was followed by an almost bored sigh. “And you’ve done nothing to earn my trust.”

“If you don’t trust me, then why did you agree to give me your blood?” Jim finally asked.

Khan didn’t seem to have an answer for that. He looked down at the IV, which was churning vitamins and fluids into his dehydrated system. And, if he wasn’t mistaken, he could also feel the effects of a mild sedative coursing through his veins as well. It wasn’t enough to knock him out, but it sure as hell made the bed feel a heck of a lot comfier.

Jim simply stared at the augmented human, not sure what to make of Khan’s sudden silence. Khan was a cold, calculated man. He was methodical, almost to a fault, and he always had a comeback. But not now. It seemed that, confronted with his own decision to willingly help someone else, the augmented human was… floored.

“Look, I don’t know what Marcus did to you.” Khan’s head snapped up and his blue eyes were filled with hatred and… was that fear? “But I can promise you that we’re not like him. We’re the good guys. And I don’t break my promises.”

“I’m well aware of that fact.” It should’ve sounded sarcastic, but it really wasn’t.

“Then why don’t you trust me?” Another hard question to answer.

Khan looked up, staring at Kirk but not really ‘seeing’ him. He looked tired… so, so tired… and Kirk couldn’t help but feel some of that exhaustion rub off on him. Khan made no move to answer Jim, but Jim hadn’t really been expecting an answer. Instead, he rose to his feet, silently brushing invisible lint off of his uniform.

This time, the rose was yellow. And it was accompanied by a small, albeit hesitant, kiss on the forehead.

Neither man slept that night.

\--

The next day, Jim was accompanied by CMO Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. The CMO gently removed his IV bag and switched it out with a fresh one. And after checking on Khan’s arm, he added a low dose of morphine to the bag. He scribbled a few notes down on his PADD, and then took his leave. 

Jim took his usual seat, crossing his legs and offering a kind glance in Khan’s direction. Once again, Khan wasn’t bothering to look at him. He was holding the yellow rose that Kirk had left yesterday, twirling it lazily between his thumb and forefinger. He was well-aware of the romantic language of flowers – especially roses.

The peach rose that Jim had left first was a symbol of appreciation and gratitude. Khan figured that it was Jim’s way of saying ‘thank you’ for the blood donation that had saved his life. The yellow rose’s meaning was much deeper, though. It meant friendship, promise of a new beginning, and… most importantly… ‘I care’.

“Why are you leaving me roses?” Khan asked, his voice low.

“Oh, no. One question at a time.” Jim’s smirk was absolutely devious, but there was a small flicker of hurt in his eyes. He didn’t know why… but he wanted Khan to like him… to trust him. “You never told me why you don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust anyone.” Khan answered simply.

“There has to be more to it than that.”

Khan frowned, the corners of his mouth creasing in a way that was oddly endearing. “Why is it so difficult for you to accept something for its face-value? Why does there have to be some deep, secretive meaning?”

Jim laughed at that. “You know, there was this really great twenty-first century movie called ‘Shrek’. It had a fantastic quote, comparing ogres – or, more specifically, Shrek – to an onion because they both had several layers.”

“I believe that you just called me an offensive-looking, man-eating monster.” Khan seemed insulted.

“No.” Kirk shook his head. “I made a point. You have many layers, just like Shrek. And I haven’t unraveled them all.”

“That has to be the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard.”

But Jim wasn’t deterred. “But you have to admit – it makes sense.”

Khan wanted to make a point of saying that he didn’t have to do anything for the foolhardy captain of the USS Enterprise. After all, for all of the man’s ‘good intentions’, he was still one a one-way path to Earth, ready to see Khan face a trial for the lives that he had taken. Jim didn’t really care about Khan. He was just like Marcus…

The rollercoaster of emotions that Khan had ridden on these last few days was almost painful. As much as he wanted to pretend he didn’t like the flowers, he still took excellent care of them – as evidenced by the fact that, after two days, the original peach rose hadn’t started to wilt. Jim noticed this, but didn’t dare to say a word about it.

“Will you tell me why you don’t trust me now?” Jim asked.

Khan, suddenly pulled out of his silent reverie, shot Jim a sharp look. “You just don’t know when to give it up.”

“I was taught to never give up. And I don’t intend to give up on you.” Jim said sincerely. And then, his voice suddenly growing deeper. “You put on a hard mask and wear it like a shield, because you think it will scare people away.”

“Excuse me?” That insulted look returned.

“But under that mask, you’re still hiding. Under that mask of weapons, violence, and general bloodthirstiness, you’re a criminal mastermind. You hide behind your brain. You think all anyone cares about is your intelligence and brawn.”

Khan’s vitals were sky-rocketing, his blood-pressure reaching an extremely unhealthy high. “Might I suggest that now would be an opportune moment to shut up?”

Jim’s mouth kept moving, though, even when his brain realized the danger ahead. “You hide behind your looks as well. If they don’t admire your strength or your cunning, then they certainly want your body, right?”

Only a few seconds later, Khan’s open palm connected with Kirk’s cheek. “I told you to shut up!”

Kirk, who almost fell to the floor with the force of Khan’s slap, quickly corrected himself. “Why can’t someone just want you for you, Khan?”

“Oh, and I suppose that ‘someone’ is going to be you, huh?”

Jim looked conflicted, almost uncertain of whether or not he should answer that. After all, Khan had yet to answer his question. In the end, he said nothing. There were really no more words to be said. Touching a hand to his cheek, he felt the tender, purpling skin there. It would be swollen to the size of a baseball come morning.

He left the rose, which was light pink in color and bereft of its thorns, on Khan’s bedside table…

\--

For the next three days, Kirk wasn’t allowed into Sickbay to visit Khan. McCoy was still pissed off about Khan’s haywire vitals and didn’t want Jim to ‘accidentally’ kill their resident intergalactic terrorist before he could receive the justice he had coming to him. Kirk, meanwhile, was doing everything within his power to stall their return to Earth.

The days went by painfully slowly for Kirk. When he wasn’t on the bridge, he was spending time in the greenhouse with Sulu. The botanist was readily supplying the different roses that he was giving to Khan, as well as explaining the different meaning behind each color and number. For example, light pink meant sympathy and admiration.

But today, however, he had a new specimen especially for the captain. The fencer proudly presented a bouquet of thirteen cerulean roses. He explained that the color didn’t actually exist in nature, but he’d been able to manufacture it by experimenting with the different colors. The color meant ‘the unattainable’, and thirteen meant ‘secret admirer’.

Which led to Jim arriving at Sickbay fifteen minutes later, a bouquet of beautiful cerulean roses in hand. He handed them to McCoy, who snarked, “You shouldn’t have.”

“They’re not for you, silly.” Jim waved his best friend off, allowing Bones to take the flowers. “They’re for Khan. To make up for the two days I missed.”

“And why would you be giving flowers to an intergalactic terrorist, might I ask?”

Jim smirked, a sort of twinkle in his blue eyes. “It’s a secret.”

\--

Oh, yes, the assault of flowers continued. Shortly after sending the bouquet of thirteen blue flowers, Khan received a bouquet of eleven white flowers: the number ‘eleven’ symbolizing true, deep love and the white symbolizing purity, innocence, and reverence. Shortly thereafter, he received a single, deep burgundy rose. It was also bereft of thorns.

Eventually, there were too many for Khan to remember when and where they had come from. And in all that time, the USS Enterprise studiously avoided planet Earth. Roses in every color, minus black, were showered upon him by the boatload. He barely had time to realize the earlier ones had died before he received newer, fresher ones.

And every day, Jim would come and sit with him. He would sit there, in that same chair, and talk with Khan like he understood him. He talked to him like an equal, or worse, a respected comrade. The man who had once doubted Khan’s motives for donating his blood was now irrevocably connected to the augmented human forever…

Each day that Kirk came, he reminded Khan that he had made him a promise. He’d promised him that he would unravel the layers that made the man before him. He’d promised he would visit him every day until he could do that. Khan had half a mind to remind him of those three days he wasn’t allowed in Sickbay… but couldn’t bring himself to.

“I made a promise to you and, like I said, I kept that promise.” Jim met Khan’s eyes, holding them with his solid gaze. “And now, I want you to tell me why you don’t trust me.”

“I already -,” but Kirk cut him off, causing Khan’s eyes to narrow. Nobody dared to cut him off.

“What you said earlier was absolute bullshit. Tell me the truth. If you can’t tell me why you don’t trust me, at least tell me why you don’t trust humans in general.”

Khan was twirling the latest flower, a yellow blossom with red tips, between his fingers. “Fine.” He said stiffly. “I don’t trust humans because… over the course of history… they’ve always taken advantage…” here, his voice fell.

“What was that?” Kirk asked, his eyes wide and interested.

Khan sighed. “I don’t trust humans because they’ve always taken advantage of me.”

Tentatively, Jim reached forward and took Khan’s hand. Khan stared at Jim’s hand like he could burn holes into it. “Was that what Marcus did? Did he take advantage of you?”

Khan’s eyes widened as violent memories assaulted his mind. Marcus tying him down to the bed. Marcus chaining him to a chair in the middle of HQ and allowing the Admirals to have their way with him. Hurting him. Marking him. Scarring him. Marcus, forcing his dirty mouth onto Khan’s, kissing him with all teeth and tongue. It disgusted him.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Khan said.

“He won’t be able to hurt you anymore, Khan.” Kirk said firmly. “He’s dead now.”

“I never said that he hurt me.” But he didn’t need to say it. In fact, no words needed to be said. The manic look in his eyes was enough to tell the entire story. Marcus had done far more than ‘hurt’ him.

“I’m sorry.” Jim said, wishing that he hadn’t pushed so hard. Khan seemed to be receding into his own headspace now, and Jim really didn’t know what to do about that.

“Please… just leave…” Khan whispered, barely noticing as Jim rose and made his way to the door.

In break from their little tradition, he left a purple hyacinth at the foot of Khan’s bed. It meant ‘I’m sorry’…

\--

“I love you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Give me a chance to prove it to you.”

“You don’t mean it.”

“Khan… What Admiral Marcus did to you is absolutely inexcusable… but that doesn’t mean that all humans are like that. If you give me a chance, I’ll prove it to you.” A pause. “I love you, Khan.”

The augmented human’s arm was now healed and minus that horrific looking contraption he’d been sporting earlier. Kirk took Khan’s hands, opened them, and placed a white heather into them. The meaning of that flower resonated deeply with both of them. Protection. Fulfilled wishes. A future both could only dream of.

Not wanting to wait another second, Kirk leaned forward and touched his lips to Khan’s. At first, Khan totally froze. Then, melting a little, he leaned forward and reciprocated in full. The sheer level of emotion in that one little kiss was astounding. It was as if, for a moment, Kirk could see the real Khan. And he liked it.

He pulled back slowly, looking into Khan’s eyes. Khan offered, “I don’t know if I love you too.”

Kirk nodded, slowly brushing a hand over Khan’s dark locks. “That’s alright. I won’t force you to say it. I just want you to know that I love you, and if you ever feel the same way about me…” And then, “I’ll never hurt you like he did.”

“I know.” And then, Khan smiled. And that, to Kirk, was more powerful than three little words could ever be.


End file.
